Life is a journey
by Thaliaislife
Summary: Reyna's grown up alone in a home where her father hated her until she caused an accident that resulted in her moving to the US to live with her older sister she didn't even know existed. Now, she's twenty-two years old and touring the country in her best-friend's band. Unfortunately, life is no picnic, and pretty soon, someone comes to mess it all up. Theyna drabble
1. The Question

The pounding sound of electric guitar just did something to Thalia, that nothing else could. It made her feel alive, adrenaline pounding through her veins, drenched in sweat as the words left her mouth. They screamed them along with her, just them. This was how life was supposed to be, full of craziness and just loving what she was doing, and holy fucking hell did Thalia love singing. Finally the song ended and Thalia cheered at the top of her lungs as her audience did along with her.

"Thank you! So much for coming to see us! We love you!" she yelled and the audience screamed in response, she felt the laugh bubble up from her chest and looked to make eye contact with her best friend, and guitar player, Reyna. The quiet girl grinned over at her in that way that made Thalia's insides do a back-flip and feel weak at the knees.

"See you guys next time!" she cheered to the crowd as the lights went down and finally, the concert had come to an end.

Reyna breathed a quiet sigh of relief as she entered her and Thalia's apartment. Sure, she loved concerts and the rush of playing her guitar in front of a crowd as much as the next person, but all those people and crowds was enough to completely drain the dark haired girl. Especially when they all yelled those questions at her after leaving. She didn't blame them for asking them, she was quite obvious, but that didn't mean that her friends knew, and she never confirmed them when asked the questions during interviews, but they still stung.

"Are you gay?!" they asked "do you have a crush on Thalia?!" they chanted, "You and Thalia are dating right?!" they screamed at her during the concerts, and Reyna had to resist the urge to run off stage and curl into a ball. The yells still wrung in her ears as she closed her bedroom door and pulled the blanket over her head.

"Are you gay?!" the words kept repeating themselves to her. Again and again and again. gay, _gay_ gay _Gay_ GAy GAY. GAY. GAY. GAY. GAY. That word. Reyna focused on her heart beat.

"Breathe," she reminded herself quietly. "Breathe,"

"You're disgusting!" she heard the words, the voice, oh god. That voice she had tried so hard to forget. The pain in her left cheek from a scar that would never leave. "You disgrace me child!" the voice said again and Reyna forced herself to breathe. Breathe.

"Reyna?" a voice broke into her thoughts and she slowly poked her head out from the covers, the room was dark, the only light was coming from the doorway that was left slightly ajar. There she stood, the embodiment of everything Reyna had tried so hard not to let herself become. Thalia Grace. Wild, reckless, beautiful, talented, caring, open and honest, Grace. The girl who she was head over heels for, and yet, she was oblivious as a friking boulder. Thalia gently walked over to the bed and rested a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"You know that they don't know what they're saying," the girl whispered, as if reading Reyna's mind. "They just make an assumption, and take it too far. It's okay," she gently assured, but Reyna just turned to look at the ground.

"It's just... I don't like being the center of attention Thalia, you know that." she muttered and Thalia laughed softly.

"Trust me, I remember middle school. They tried to get you to give a speech for the student body, and you were so nervous you looked like a wet tomato," the blue eyes girl teased and Reyna couldn't help, but smile.

"You weren't much better, if my memory is correct," she gently nudged the older girl. Thalia just grinned proudly.

"It was a simpler time," she said wistfully and lay an arm across Reyna's shoulders.

"listen, they don't know what they're talking about, so don't listen to them. you're still Reyna friking Ramirez-Allreno, and everyone knows that. And so what if you were gay?! You're still my best-friend, and nothing will ever change that. I promise," she told the dark eyed teen and ruffled her hair affectionately. Reyna felt her heart beat twice as fast, and she smiled softly at her blue eyed friend. She didn't understand what Reyna had gone through, or why she feared that godforsaken word so much, and yet she truly did understand what she needed in that moment. Maybe that's why she liked her so much. Maybe that's why she needed her.

Times were tough right in this moment. Reyna couldn't bare the thought of doing it all over again the next day. More singing, more pretending not to hear the questions, more screaming. More, more, more. More of all this godforsaken confusion. She wanted to run, to hide, to do anything, but face those rumors. Face that crowd. Face those fans that screamed the same questions she asked herself on a daily basis. Nothing, nothing in the entire universe could prepare Reyna for this. Nothing could free her from it either. because as much as it hurt, as it pained her, as it made her want to scream, she just couldn't stop. Not for anything. Not for Thalia. Because for every scream, for every question, for every little shred of her childhood that was unearthed, there was Thalia. Thalia and her aura of joy, of happiness, of just pure, reckless, love. And Reyna was trapped, trapped in that web of reckless love. Trapped in Thalia.


	2. The Blonde boy from the black lagoon

Three A.M.

It was three A.M. and Reyna still had not seen Thalia all day. It had started normal enough, she had gotten up, gotten dressed, and found a note pinned to the fridge saying that Thalia had gone out to get groceries. That was Thalia for, "We ran out of waffles," so Reyna just went out for lunch with her sister like she had planned.

Now it was Three A.M. and Reyna was prepared to ring the other girl's neck if she did not come home soon. She wasn't answering her phone, and she had only answered her texts with 'I ran into a friend, be back late,' which could mean anything from, she had found a stray dog, or she had been kidnapped.

Three A.M.

It's Three-forty-five when she finally gets home, and she's not alone. She's laughing with a 6ft tall, blonde, blue eyed, man with a scar down the side of his face.

"Thalia Grace, where on earth have you been!" are Reyna's first words upon Thalia entering the door. Thalia, has to catch her breath from laughing before answering.

"Hey Reyna! Sorry, we got distracted by the pond, then we decided to go see a movie, then a movie led to a dinner, which led to a street performer. Time got away from us," she summed up and Reyna just face palmed.

"You do realize that this is the second time this month," she grumbled and Thalia shrugs before gesturing to her friend.

"Sorry, I'll pay you back later. This is my Boyfriend, Luke. Luke, this is my roommate and best friend since 7th grade, Reyna." She introduced the blonde man. Luke smiled at Reyna, but something hot instantly boiled in the pit of Reyna's stomach at the sight of this boy with, Thalia. Her Thalia.

"Wait, boyfriend, what?!" she said and stared at Thalia with a questioning look. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"What? I can get a boyfriend! It's not like I haven't had them before," she muttered and Reyna just stared at her.

"Thalia, you've never dated a person before in your life. Literally any guy that asked you out in high-school, you judo flipped," she said and Luke rose an eyebrow at his girlfriend, who only offered a sheepish smile, "so me being surprised about having a boyfriend is a bit acceptable."

"Okay, fine, you have a point. But it's still perfectly likely I could get one if I wanted," Thalia defended. Reyna rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, so how long have you two been dating? Twelve hours?" she asked teasingly and finally, Mr. Scar spoke.

"Two weeks actually," he muttered and Reyna tripped over mid air, going sprawling on the floor, and immediately bouncing back up.

"What?!" she yelled and Thalia winced.

"I know, I know, I know, I didn't tell you, but I was just nervous. Taking Luke home to meet you is a bit like taking him home to meet my parents. It's, just awkward," she muttered, but Reyna was still spluttering for words. The world seemed to be spinning around her. For two weeks Thalia had been dating this, this blonde golden boy?! WHAT THE HECK?! This was really out of character for Thalia. She NEVER looked at guys. She NEVER even got close enough to one, unless her cousins and brother counted, to hear their voices. How the hell did this one become her boyfriend. More importantly, what did he have that she didn't?!

A penis. Well, besides that. He's male. Okay, point taken. Reyna had no shot now, and she'd have to deal with blondey a lot more often now that he'd been introduced. Reyna just took a deep breath to calm herself, before face palming.

"I'm going to bed, it's almost 4 AM. If I hear any kind on noises coming from your room I'm coming in there and chopping off your boyfriend's manhood, goodnight," she grumbled and walked down the hall to her room. Thalia's face was bright red and Luke looked slightly scared.

"Should I take that as a good sign, or a bad sign?" Luke asked Thalia who shrugged.

"Well, you're still alive for now, so I'd take that as a good sign," she muttered.

The next week is torture. He's there, every waking hour of the day and him and Thalia are ALWAYS hanging off of each other. Always flirting. Always rubbing it in Reyna's face. Reyna feels as if Thalia has cut open her chest and is rubbing salt in the wound. She knows that Thalia doesn't understand, that Thalia will never understand. She knows, and that is the only thing that keeps her from screaming. Luke proves himself to be a poor house guest. He's messy, loud, and most importantly, nosy. He's always snooping through their stuff. Especially hers, and the more he snoops, the more Reyna dislikes him. She doesn't understand how Thalia tolerates him, they're polar opposites. Thalia is wild and carefree, Luke is controlling and worried. Thalia is the human embodiment of punk rock, Luke is a preppy asshole who loves pop and can not tolerate Reyna's guitar playing. Thalia is her best friend and shares everything with her. Her emotions are always plain and obvious and so easy to read. Luke is a ticking time-bomb. He bottles us everything until he explodes, and when he does it is not a pretty sight. Part of her wants to call the government and tell them to take their nuke back. Thalia and Luke are so different that Reyna feels like she's having the life force drained out of her whenever Luke is there. She hates him, and hates the fact that it seems her best friend loves him.

Thalia is worried. Reyna has always been a quiet person. Has been since the 7th grade. The first time she ever heard the girl speak surprised her so much that she nearly stapled her finger to the desk. But that was years ago, now Reyna has become a much more expressive and talkative person, and Thalia likes to believe that's her doing. Not anymore, ever since she introduced her "boyfriend" Luke Reyna has been a lot more withdrawn. She's barely spoken to her in the past week, and when she does it's only when Luke isn't there. Whenever he is she just locks herself in her room and turns her music up all the way to drown them out, or makes up some kind of excuse to leave the apartment. Thalia wishes she would stay, wishes desperately that she wouldn't leave her alone with him. But she can't tell her, she can't say a thing, and she's running out of concealer. He's sticking to her like glue, and it is infuriating and scary at the same time. he knows if he stays he's still got her trapped, so he stays. He makes sure she's trapped. He knows every little dirty secret, and he's ready to use them. Especial that one, that one that got her into this whole mess. He won't let go, he's like a leech that's stuck to her back, she just can't reach him to pull him off, and the only person who can is oblivious, and must be kept that way. The leech is stuck, and it's draining. This is worth it, she tells herself, this is worth it. You have to, Reyna is too much to loose. Reyna, is worth it, no matter how bad it gets, Reyna is always worth it.

Luke is frustrated. Thalia's stupid roommate is way to smart for her own good. She already suspects something is up, and Thalia's horrible acting skills are not helping. The girl's room is cleaner then a quarantine zone. Nothing, and Luke knows nothing, nothing in there is anything that could be used to get rid of her. No one is that clean, and anytime he does find something, Thalia already knows, and doesn't care. Nothing, nothing will get rid of that stupid Latino girl, and if Luke can't get rid of her, it's only a matter of time before he's caught. And he's not going back, he's never going back there. He isn't going to make the same mistake the 16 year-old version of himself did. He's going to be sneaky, and he's not going to get caught, even if that means that some people will have to disappear.

Hylla is angry. She's beyond angry, she's furious. Her sister and her room mate are both complete idiots. They are not fooling anyone with their stupid love games, and it's honestly making her sick. She knows that Reyna has a colossal crush on Thalia, like the only way she could be more obvious was if she had a flashing sign taped to her forehead. She's known that Thalia had a crush on Reyna since she met the girl in Reyna's 7th grade year. Her eyes literally changed into hearts when she looked at her. The fact that Thalia just got a boyfriend, when she's the most obvious lesbian she's ever met, her sister included, is like punching her square between the eyes. Hylla did not raise her sister since she was 18 to see her become a complete moron in the lane of romance. Percy, might actually win the bet if she can't get them together withing the next two years. Hylla Ramirez-Allreno does NOT lose bets, ever.

Piper is suspicious. There's a girl that comes into her beauty salon every week on Thursday, and every time she buys nothing except concealer and skin care products. The kind you would get if you were covering up a tattoo, but the girl is tattoo-less. She can tell because of all the different times she's come in. At first she just thought that she must have a scare or something, but the more often she comes, the more Piper can see why she's getting it. The girl is no stranger to the products, but still, a trained eye can see the massive amounts of make up covering her skin. She's basically coated in it, like she just jumped into a bathtub of it rather then applying it. A person with a really good eye can see the bruises underneath, the awkward way of standing, the lowered head at the register, and the constant avoidance of eye contact. After spending three months living with her aunt and step-uncle as a child, she recognizes those characteristics. She tries to be nice, and help the girl, but she always just dodges the questions, and she's worried. Because she didn't come in this week, and Piper has a strong belief that she may not be alive if she doesn't show up. Piper only wants to help, but the dark haired girl, doesn't want help, and her blue eyes are slowly cracking more then her make-up.

Maybe Reyna is just being paranoid, or maybe she just hates Luke so much that her mind is making up more excuses to hate him, but she could've sworn that last night she had awaken to a scream. Thalia's scream. Reyna would know that sound anywhere, because Thalia never screams, unless she's on top of a building, and when she does it it ear piercing and it will shatter your windows. Reyna rushes into Thalia's bedroom, hair hanging loosely around her face, and eyes bleary from sleep. Thalia is curled up on her bed, Luke carefully sat next to her, stroking her shoulders, tears are streaming down the blue eyed girl's face.

"What happened?!" Reyna yelled and ran to Thalia's side and immediately going into mother bear mode. Thalia recognizes it from 9th grade, the worst year of her life, and the year that Reyna basically threatened to strangle the entire high-school student body. But, she can't tell her the truth, can't say the real reason why she let out that god awful, pathetic sound.

"J-Just a nightmare, really Reyna I'm fine," she whispered, not trusting her voice if she spoke any louder. Reyna, was having none of it though. She knew Thalia too well, and she could see her trying to pull herself away from Luke. Her eyes are smoldering as she turns to glare at the older Blonde boy.

"You best go back to your place, I'll take care of her. Go, now," It wasn't a question, and there was no debate in her gaze. Luke started to protest, but Reyna's eyes just hardened, and the boy got the message. Leave now, or Reyna will forcibly drag you out by the throat. He stood and quietly let himself out. Reyna carefully settled herself beside her in Luke's place, and Thalia forces herself not to wince when she touches her shoulders.

"Tell me what really happened? Did that bastard hurt you, because I swear to the gods if he did-" Reyna started and Thalia shook her head wildly, making the world spin mildly, note to self, make sure that she didn't let her head close to the head board from now on.

"No, no, no, no. Reyna, relax please, I'm not hurt, I just... It's complicated," she muttered quietly, and Reyna was obviously not buying it. Although she knew it was wrong to do this to her, it was the only way to keep her next to her, so she put on her best puppy-dog eyes and let her body relax the most it would. "I'm fine Reyna, it was just a dream. Please don't take this out of proportion," she muttered to the older girl. Reyna sighed, caving in, but still not buying it.

"Fine, but you two are not allowed to go anywhere without me from now on. I want to keep an eye on that boy," she grumbled and gently wrapped an arm over Thalia's shoulders. Thalia bit back a curse, and Reyna definitely noticed, but didn't say anything about it. Thalia inwardly cheered at the words "You two are not allowed to go anywhere without me," because that meant that she had Reyna's protection. That meant she would actually have time to let some of it heal. Thalia lay her head on Reyna's shoulder, and let her eyes droop with exhaustion.

"Alright, just please don't kill him if he does something stupid, like accidentally step on my toe," she muttered, attempting to joke. Reyna snorts quietly.

"If he steps on your toe, he will avoid murder, but not a broken arm," she said back quietly. Thalia is asleep before she can hear the end of the sentence.


	3. What happens behind closed doors

Reyna sighed from her position in the darkened theater. She knew it was stupid, but she honestly couldn't bring herself to leave the two of them alone. If it was worry about what happened behind closed doors, or jealousy that made her follow them around like a lost puppy, she wasn't sure. In any case that meant that she was now stuck in a darkened theater sand-whiched between an older blonde lady and random black guy who looked like he had the plague. Reyna watched the two shapes beneath her, curled up in the light of the movie, her friend's head resting on the shoulder of her Boyfriend, who appeared to be asleep. Dark, barely controlled rage burned in her stomach at the sight of that golden blonde hair. She knew there was something wrong with that boy, and after finding bruises on Thalia's wrists she was starting to have an inkling as to what. Unfortunately something deeply troubled her about that Idea. If Thalia was being abused by Luke, why didn't she tell her, and more importantly, why would she let him. Thalia was remarkably strong for her size, and a great fighter if her years in Karate had taught her anything, so there was no possible way for Luke, even if he was bigger and stronger then her, could do anything to her unless she let him. What could possibly posses Thalia so much that would make her allow someone to touch her like that? What? Of course, that was if he was abusing her, which Reyna doubted by the lose, comforted position her friend was in right now next to him, so that one was out the window.

Reyna sighed again and glanced down the theater aisle until she saw a familiar face and frowned. There, sitting near the front next to a girl with choppy brown hair, was their Bass player Percy Jackson. Was he on a date? Maybe, considering he had a girl with him, and had his arm around her, but she had learned a long time ago to expect the least likely situation with Percy, so a date probably wasn't it. She checked her watch in the weak lighting. Twenty more minutes until the movie was over, maybe afterword she could go interrogate her friend and leave the love birds to make goo-goo eyes at each other in peace.

"Wait, what?" Thalia asked giving her friend a strange look.

"I saw Percy here with some girl, I'm going to go check it out. I'll meet you by the car afterword, okay?" Reyna said and waved at her before taking off down the aisle, leaving Thalia alone with her "boyfriend."

"C'mon honey, let's go wait by the car," Luke said in a sickly sweet tone. Thalia swallowed nervously, and tried to ignore the beat of her heart speeding up, or the fight or flight instincts kicking in as she was dragged by and Iron grip towards the car.

"I swear I didn't say a thing," she pleaded with the taller man. Luke just sent her an Ice cold glare.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch," he snarled and slammed her into the side of the car. Her spine screamed in protest and she could feel old bruises throbbing. "I know you told her, how else would she be to fucking protective. She's been watching us like a hawk. She knows so stop pretending that you didn't tell her," He grabbed her chin and squeezed. Pain laced through Thalia's skull and she instinctively kicked him in the balls.

"I didn't tell her, dick!" she yelled and Luke grunted in pain. Thalia finally realized what she'd done and swallowed nervously. "I-I," she stuttered, but Luke towered over her.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that," he growled and the only thing Thalia registered of the next couple seconds was pain. Then she lay on the pavement, the taste of blood in her mouth, and a pain in her chest. She coughed and blood stained the pavement. Her vision blured, dancing in and out of focus. Luke hauled her to her feet. She could feel the skin around her eyes swelling shut and for a moment the only thing she could wonder was why he had stopped. Then she heard the ringing of her cellphone. Luke shoved the device up to her ear as she swallowed her shaking breath.

"H-Hello..." she muttered into the phone.

"Hey, Thalia. Sorry, but Listen I'm going to go hang out with Percy and his cousin for the rest of the day. You and your boyfriend can go home without me. I'll be back late probably. Don't get any Idea's though. Okay?" Reyna said from the other end and Thalia swallowed a cry of despair. She was going to be alone, with him. Which meant she was going to need to wear long sleeves for the next couple days, and bandages.

"Alright..." she whispered into the phone.

"Great, see ya later. Bye," Reyna said.

"Bye."

Luke took the phone and pushed her against the car. Her vision cleared for a few moments, so she could see the blood staining his hands and the cold, crazed smile on his lips. She could see the dead glint of his blue eyes, her fingers trembled. Her chest shook, and her entire body ached with what she knew was coming. "Well, looks like it's going to be my lucky day," he murmured.


	4. too late

Thalia couldn't remember what it felt like not to be in pain. The last three weeks had been pure torture, every step felt like she was walking barefoot on broken glass. Every movement sent sparks of agony radiating up her spine, but just laying in bed hurt an equal amount. The worst part was she couldn't show it, couldn't scream when she accidentally reopened a cut, couldn't let her face screw up in agony when she was watching a movie with Reyna, and she accidentally touched a spot on her arm that was still tender. Couldn't fall down sobbing and cursing during a concert after she did the splits and felt the muscles in between her legs pop in protest. She couldn't let herself crack, or show the agony that cut through her armor like butter. She lost herself in the music that poured from her words, let her lyrics and songs be silent cries for help, pleas for someone, anyone to save her. But nobody could.

Thalia was stuck, tied up in this web of lies she'd spun herself, and the lines just kept getting tighter. They sliced her skin, and choked her, they slowly and completely tightened, and Thalia didn't know for how much longer she could remain here without dying. Tonight was no exception.

Luke smirked down at her, blue eyes cold and unfeeling, Thalia whimpered helplessly as her blood turned to ice. The first strike was always the least painful, her cheek immediately swollen, old bruises and cuts that had never heals started to reopen as the blows came. Hard, heavy, and painful blows. Thalia was used to it by now. Nothing, nothing. She felt nothing and he continued to hit her. The blows were empty, they no longer held the same fear they had months ago on the poor girl. Thalia lay there, helpless, and numb as the blows continued, until her skin was completely black and blue, Luke snarled, looking frustrated that his toy no longer made shrieks of pain or cried when he hit it. Finally, he moved onto a different topic.

Thalia didn't remember what had happened next, all she remembered was for the first time in months she had shrieked in pain, that her whole body had gone limp, that she truly was helpless. It burned like fire through her body. Agony pulsing through her veins and her skin was ripped. Her breath had left her in loud shrieks.

"Help me!" she had cried, "Save me!" she had screamed, but...

no one heard.

no one came.

no one saved her.

she was alone...

Reyna sighed softly upon entering her apartment, carefully dropping her suitcase on the sofa and falling after it. It was three in the afternoon, but for the exhausted girl it might as well have been three in the morning. She made no effort to get up, and instead just closed her eyes.

"Thalia! I'm back from Spain!" she called into the quiet house. No response. Reyna frowned and slowly reopened an eye. No one. The apartment was an utter mess, clothes covered the floor, pizza boxes lay in random places and for some reason there was a plastic sword balanced on top of the TV. Beer cans littered the floor right next to the couch and all across the coffee table. Reyna suddenly shot to her feet.

Beer cans?! Now she knew something was wrong. Thalia hated alcohol and wouldn't touch the stuff with a ten foot pole. No way in hell she would drink it, especially when Reyna wasn't around. Meaning only one thing. Luke had been here. Reyna suddenly felt something akin to worry spiral around her. Swallowing hard, Reyna ran towards Thalia's bedroom.

"Thalia?!" she called right as she burst through the door, and froze.

Her eyes widened in horror and all her worries, suspicions, and fears came crashing down on her shoulders with the force of a freight train. Her stomach clenched, chest tightened, and she found it impossible to move or breathe.

Thalia lay strewn across her bed in a completely unnatural position. Her eyes were closed, and her entire bed was soaked in blood. Her friend's normally pale skin had turned into one giant bruise, small, infected looking, cuts covered her face and arms. Blood, streaming from the place between her legs showed exactly what had been done to her. So, much blood, and Thalia was scarely breathing. Reyna slowly regained the ability to move and lunged forward, clutching onto her friend's hand, her skin like ice.

"Thalia, oh god Thalia," she pleaded with the dark haired girl, but the girl remained unresponsive. "Hold on Thalia, please hold on," She pulled out her phone.

911...

"Hello, please state your emergency..." the monotone voice said from the other end.

"M-My friend, she's been beaten, badly. She's unconscious and bleeding a ton..." she muttered into the receiver, feeling oddly numb as she stared at the girl she had, for so long, cared for, and trusted.

"Yes, ma'am, we have your location and are sending an ambulance now, please remain calm." Reyna still clutched onto Thalia's hand like it was life line. She couldn't believe this happened. That she had let this happen. Who knew how long that bastard had been doing this to Thalia? Oh god... they had been together for 4 months.. did that mean.. all this time, right under her nose, he had been dong this to her.

Reyna, started to hyperventilate. No, no, no he couldn't have. She would've known, would've stopped him. No one, no one would ever touch her Thalia like that, and live to tell the day. But it had... and he was free, and unconcerned. Rage, pure rage poured through her veins. She had let this happen, and now Thalia was bleeding to death right in front of her. And it was all her fault. Reyna hadn't cried since seventh grade since her dad... bit the dust... but now, at this moment. The proud, stern, and cold twenty three year old, fell to her knees sobbing, and holding onto the one she loved tightly.


	5. Closets are dark

Thalia awoke to the soft humming of hospital machines. There was a blinding, artificial light above her face, and she was covered head to toe in bandages. She could barely see, and her entire world was spinning. She let out a soft groan of pain and closed her eyes, exhaustion plain on her face. Then, memories, cold and harsh, slapped across her face and Thalia's eyes flew open.

"Luke!" she screamed, flying into a sit up position, only to have her vision wash black. Thalia gasped for air, coldness splashing around her and her stomach shivered. The girl's vision danced in and out of the blackness as pain laced up her spine. Then, there were arms around her, a voice she couldn't understand in her ear, but it felt familiar. That voice, it was home. The voice was murmuring words the girl couldn't understand, but Thalia relaxed into the arms that held her, knowing the arms belonged to the voice. She was safe, she was sure of it, as long as those arms held her she was safe. The blackness rushed up to take her again.

The next time she awoke the arms were gone, and so was the uncomfortable light. It was dark this time, and Thalia slowly opened her eyes, only to have the memories come rushing back as soon as she did. Pain that was no longer being inflicted rushed up her spine, and a sob came between Thalia's lips. Agony, pure agony was racing around her, along with his voice.

"Worthless!" it yelled, "goddamn it, you little whore! Disgusting! I can't believe you even have friends!" Thalia could feel the world shaking around her, shattering, breaking apart. Then the arms were there again, gently pulling her close to a familiar warmth. The voice, coming to chase away that of the boy's. Warm, and gentle.

"I've got you, I promise," the voice whispered and Thalia felt the tears slipping and she gently nestled her head in the voice's chest. There was a soft chuckle, then they gently lifted Thalia's face. "Come on buddy, You're going to be okay," the girl promised. Two eyes like those of the embers of a fire glowed softly at her.

"Reyna," Thalia managed to murmur. Her own voice sounded hoarse and empty like she had none of it left. She coughed after the word as if speaking it was poison on her throat.

"You scared the hell out of me," the other girl said gently and leaned down to rest her forehead upon Thalia's. Thalia just stared into those deep dark eyes. Reyna's smile slowly melted away to be replaced by a look of pure sorrow, and pain. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

"Th-thalia," she whispered, and guilt twisted the stomach of Thalia, like a dying snake. "Why?" Reyna asked and Thalia closed her eyes, not wanting to answer the question. Not just because it defeated the entire purpose, but also because she was ashamed. Ashamed of what the answer was, and how pitiful of an excuse it was. No, there was no excuse to what she had let that man do to her. None and Reyna knew that but still, she looked so hurt, so worried so... Thalia didn't know what to call it.

"Please," Reyna begged gently and lifted her face with her hand. Their eyes met and Thalia could feel the tears threatening to spill down her face. No, she'd done enough crying, she needed to snap out of it and get her shit together. She wasn't some creature to be defeated so easily. How many times had she told herself that? A hundred? A thousand? Whenever she'd had too much of him. This time, however, she couldn't even pretend to believe it, and she closed her eyes.

"Because I'm an idiot, and I was scared," she whispered, that was part of it, but nearly the whole truth. Reyna didn't buy it, though, she was too smart for that. Reyna lay a hand on her shoulder, trying to meet her eyes, no matter how much Thalia attempted to avoid them.

"You and I both know It was more than that. Thalia, please. I won't be mad, I promise." she assured and Thalia swallowed the butterflies dancing in the pit of her stomach, not really the appropriate time. She didn't want to speak, she desperately didn't want to say a thing about her motives, but those dark eyes of her friends pried it out of her.

"I-I was an idiot," she repeated and lowered her face, unable to meet her eyes. "I met Luke, we had been friends when we were younger, I didn't think he would've become so... evil. He knew most of my secrets, but he knew one of them I really didn't want to be shared. So, of course, he threatened to if I didn't cooperate. and I did, because I was a stupid, naive little girl. Then, it started to get really bad, and at that point, I didn't care anymore, I was going to stop him, get rid of him. I had enough, but... but then he threatened to hurt you if I didn't stay... so I did. Oh gods, why am I so stupid," Thalia whispered and hid her face in hands, expecting Reyna to be at least a little angry. All of this, this stupid pain and torture over a stupid secret that she was pretty sure half the world had already figured out. Instead, Thalia was met with a warm embrace and gentle hands playing with her hair. Thalia rolled over and buried her face in Reyna's shoulder.

"You're not an idiot," Reyna promised and Thalia suppressed the urge to protest. There was no point in arguing with Reyna, even if you knew she was wrong, she would still win. "Look, I know all about keeping secrets for no apparent reason, and feeling bad when people figure it out. Even if it's kinda obvious. I've spent our entire adult lives running from a secret half the world already knows, just because I'm scared of admitting it to myself." the taller girl whispered in Thalia's eyes widened. She looked up at Reyna, the other girl's dark eyes glittering in the dim light.

"D-Do you mean...?" she asked and Reyna smiled sadly.

"I think we've both been running from this for too long," she answered and took her hand, Thalia's blood pumped a thousand miles per hour. Was this actually going where she thought it was going? Reyna's nose was resting against hers.

"Say it with me?" she asked and Thalia could barely muster the courage to nod, much less speak, but the glimmer of something Thalia suspected was beyond that of friendship glinted in Reyna. And looking into the eyes of the girl she trusted, she pushed the words to her lips and let them fill the air around her. Reyna's voice at the same moment.

"I'm Gay." they both whispered to each other, and Thalia felt a childlike grin spread across her face. Reyna laughed, actually laughed. A sight so rare that it still made Thalia feel like she was hearing it for the first time. It reminded her of church bells, ringing and echoing in her head.

"How does it feel to get out of that closet, Grace?" she teased and Thalia felt the smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Blinding, there's too much sun," she joked back and Reyna poked her playfully. Thalia smiled, shadows of a boy with blonde hair slowly leaving her mind, in the favor of the light that was her best friend. Her best friend who was oblivious to the fact she had almost kissed her.

Thalia was oblivious to the fact she'd almost done the same.


	6. Blonde boys are not to be trusted

Luke had been arrested a week before Thalia came back to her apartment, but part of her was still scared that when she opened the door to the apartment he'd be sitting on the couch waiting for her. For a solid three seconds, it seemed that that fear had come true. In her living room sat a tall blonde haired boy with light blue eyes and a scar on his face. Thalia yelped in terror, and jumped back into the hallway, and was already half-way down the stairs before she registered that Reyna was chasing after her.

"Thalia!" she yelled and Thalia froze around the second floor, panting and shaking. All she could see was him, him and his stupid voice. She was there again, helplessly pinned to the ground as he struck her again and again. Arms wrapped around her and she started thrashing.

"Let me go! Let me go!" fear made her voice crack. She sounded like a child throwing a tantrum, but Thalia was too scared to register it. Luke. He had her, she was sure of it.

"Thalia, calm down, it's me. It's me," the voice promised and slowly Thalia opened her eyes. Reyna was holding her up, looking concerned and scared at the same time. Thalia swallowed down her shrieks of terror and looked around in confusion. Where was Luke? He had just been there, she was sure of it.

"Are you okay? You just started running and then you were screaming like you were having some kind of spasm attack. Do you need anything? Should I call the doctor?" Reyna asked and it took a moment for Thalia to register that she had not in fact been attacked by Luke.

"N-No. I.. I'm okay. Ju-Just jumpy I guess," Thalia whimpered and started to stand up, only to nearly fall over when she saw the blonde boy descending the stairs, looking concerned.

"Thals, what happened?" he asked and ran over. Thalia jumped and instinctively hid behind Reyna, wrapping a hand around her crutch, prepared to use it as a weapon if the boy came any closer. Reyna looked just as confused as the blonde boy, then understanding flickered in her eyes and she held up a hand to stop the boy from coming any closer.

"Wait," she told him and turned back to Thalia. "It's okay, Luke's gone, I promise. He's gone, and he won't be coming back," she said, but Thalia's expression didn't look convinced. Her eyes were hollow with fear and Reyna could practically see Thalia struggling through the memories of the older blonde boy.

"He's gone, I promise," she repeated and gently grabbed Thalia's shoulders to force her to look at her in the eyes. Thalia was hyperventilating.

"Luke," Thalia mumbled and started to tremble again. Reyna grabbed Thalia and gently ran her fingers through her hair, hopefully, a sign that she wasn't going to hurt her. Thalia blinked as if waking up from a dream. She stared at Reyna for a couple more seconds, before finally seeming to completely understand what had just happened. She clapped a hand over her mouth and tears started in her eyes.

"Oh my god, Jason I-I.," she whispered and Reyna finally relaxed, releasing her friend, who moved over to her brother who looked just as confused as he was worried for his big sister's mental health. Thalia limped forward and hugged her brother tightly, he gently hugged her back.

"H-Hey it's okay, you've been through a lot," he mumbled and Reyna started to consider that she probably should've given Thalia more warning, but then again she hadn't exactly known Jason was coming until he had shown up at the apartment this morning, still a phone call would've been a good idea.

Thalia felt like she'd just stepped off of a bridge and was falling through the sky towards certain doom. She'd just mistaken her own brother for a psychopathic murderer who had sexually abused her! Maybe now was the time to consider seeing a therapist, but Jason didn't seem to mind. Maybe he understood this was an accident that was completely out of Thalia's control, or maybe he just didn't know enough to understand what had just happened, either way, he helped her up the stairs and back into her apartment.

"You two need anything? Tea? Food? Psychiatric hospital?" Reyna asked, and Thalia laughed weakly.

"I'm fine Reyna, just... please don't leave us alone," she muttered and tried to convey a silent message with her eyes. Reyna nodded and understood immediately what she meant. Thalia didn't know if another one of those, whatever that was, would happen again, and she wanted her support right now. Thalia sat on the couch, Reyna carefully flopping down beside her. Thalia let herself relax as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. Jason sat across from them in the arm chair.

"So..." he began quietly and sighed, "if it isn't too much, could one of you explain exactly what happened?" he asked and Reyna and Thalia exchanged glances. Thalia swallowed nervously and looked at her feet. Reyna sighed.

"It's a bit of a long story, but the basics are a man name Luke Castellen... er... sexually abused Thalia," Reyna mumbled and Thalia shut her eyes tightly, trying desperately not to imagine him. Not to see him, trying to force herself not to remember the feeling of his fingers digging into her skin. She swallowed a cry of terror. She was safe, she reminded herself, Luke was gone. Luke was gone. Jason had gone from concerned to outright distraught. He looked at Thalia as expecting her to tell him it wasn't true. Thalia only stared at the bandages covering her arms and legs.

"Thals, you didn't really, actually go back to Luke did you?" Jason asked, Thalia winced so badly that she almost fell off the couch.

"I... I was an Idiot," she whispered and Jason shook his head.

"More like suicidal, did you not remember why he left in the first place? Murder, Thalia! He committed Murder!" He growled and Thalia snapped.

"Well it wasn't like I went searching for him!" she snarled and Jason's eyes hardened. "He came after me! He knew that I used to care about him, so he came after me! He had dirt on me, he had things to hold over my head so he came after me! I didn't just go searching for a man who had killed someone!" Thalia was standing now, and Reyna carefully reached up to pull her back down, but Thalia only shrugged her off. Jason took a deep breath.

"Thalia, I don't blame you for what happened-" Jason began, but Thalia cut him off.

"Really? Because that's sure what it sounded like!" she shouted.

"But, for crying out loud for once in your life can you just let your pride go? Because right now, if it weren't for your pride you wouldn't be in this mess." Jason finished and Thalia stared at him quietly for a moment.

"My pride? You think I got into this mess because of my pride?" she hissed and Jason stood, towering over his sister.

"Yes, your pride! You said it yourself, you said he had secrets, and dirt on you, well if your ego wasn't so big and you weren't so concerned about getting a little bit of dirt on you, then you wouldn't have cared about what he had to say!"

"My ego?! You do realize I'm in a band right? If I had let him say those secrets than it would've been all over the news network before you could say whoops, and that's a whole other can of worms entirely!"

"Now, you sound like mom!" Silence. Dead silence fell across the room, Thalia looked appalled, and Jason looked like he'd just shot someone, Reyna, on the other hand, looked like she'd just been stretched out like salt water taffy and then used for tug of war.

"I-I," Jason began, but Thalia held up a hand.

"That's enough." she whispered and Jason swallowed.

"Thalia I.. I didn't mean-"

"I said that's enough!" she snarled and Jason winced. "Just go, I'll call you later." her voice diminished back into a whispered and Jason carefully left the room. Thalia sank back into the couch.

"Thalia, please don't," Reyna started, but it was already too late. Thalia dug her nails into the palms of her hands.

"He said I was like mom," Thalia muttered and Reyna sighed.

"Thalia, you're no-"

"Yes Reyna, I am." Thalia interrupted and closed her eyes. "If I'd just not been so goddamn scared about something half the world already knows this wouldn't have happened." Reyna shook her head.

"You have a right to be scared, it's a big thing to admit, and you know that Jason doesn't know what it is. If he knew that Luke was threatening you with outting you, then he'd think twice about saying it was your pride." Reyna tried to reassure, but Thalia just shook her head.

"I don't want to argue anymore tonight, so can you just.. get me something to eat or.. I don't know. Watch a movie?" Thalia suggested, and as worried as Reyna was, she knew better than to push Thalia.

"Alright, you want me to see if I can scratch something up, or just order a pizza?" she asked and Thalia smiled weakly.

"You know who I am right?" she asked and Reyna laughed softly.

"Pizza it is," she said and went to get her phone. As soon as Reyna had left the room Thalia let the smile crumble and put her head in her hands.

"You just had to mention mom, didn't you Jason," she whispered and pressed her eyes closed. She remembered the woman and her curly blonde hair. Beryl Grace, TV star and everyone's favorite mom. Also known as the devil woman and the source of all of Thalia's nightmares up until... well up until Luke really. Great, Jason just had to go and mention her and send Thalia on a trip down memory lane. Was she really turning into mom? Well, Jason was right, it had been her own fault that she'd gotten trapped with Luke. Because of that she had caused emotional stress on the people she cared about. Great, now all she had to do was bleach her hair blonde and have a drinking problem. Thalia tried to chase away the tears, suddenly Reyna walked back into the room, looking concerned, in her hand she held a small orange pill bottle.

"Thalia, why are your pills all sitting in this bottle?" Reyna asked and Thalia looked in the opposite direction. Reyna sighed. "Thalia! Look, I know you've been through a lot in the past couple months, but goddamn it! You have to take your medicine!" she sounded more worried than angry, but Thalia still felt vulnerable, exposed.

"I just... you know I have those things," Thalia muttered and Reyna sighed, opening the bottle and handing Thalia a couple pills the size of a ladybug.

"Take them, now," Reyna said and handed her a cup of water. Thalia swallowed the pills and Reyna placed the bottle in the kitchen.

"I haven't done this in nearly two years now, but I will I have to," she said and Thalia sighed.

"I'm sorry. I just... I don't have an excuse,"

"And you shouldn't. These things are supposed to help you, Thalia, they can't if you don't take them."

"Well, it's not my fault that I was diagnosed with depression!" Thalia snapped, but Reyna didn't bat an eye at her outburst.

"I know that, but that doesn't change the fact that you have to take the pills," she reminded her and Thalia sighed.

"I.. I know. I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry everything over the past 4 months I just can't stand the Idea that I was such an idiot." Thalia calmed and Reyna wrapped her arms around her room mate.

"You weren't an idiot, you were scared, and you have every right to be scared," Reyna promised and Thalia closed her eyes, leaning back against her room mate.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Thalia asked and Reyna smiled.

"Because I love you, dork," she said and Thalia felt her stomach do a little back-flip. She grinned like an idiot, but almost as soon as she did she let the grin fade. Reyna didn't mean it like that, she tried to remind herself.

"I love you too," she whispered and Reyna felt her cheeks flush, glad that Thalia was facing the other direction and unable to see her.


End file.
